Bowen

Bowen

Origin of the Bowen surname

Bowen was originally a Welsh name. The prefix "B" in Welsh surnames is similar in function to the Scottish prefixes "Mc" and "Mac", the Irish prefix "O" and the English suffix "son" - it means "son of". So, Bowen literally means "son of Owen".

Nevertheless, our earliest known Bowen ancestors came from Ireland. I have not yet been able to trace them back to their Welsh roots.

In Ireland, this family's name was usually spelt "Bohen". The change to the "Bowen" spelling came after the family migrated to Australia.

Bohen migration to Australia

The story of the Bohen family migration to Australia is a sad one. In early 1836 Mary Lahy was a twice-widowed mother struggling to raise four children alone in Kilkenny, Ireland. (After the deaths of her husbands she reverted to her maiden name.) Her children were Patrick Tobin (aged 20), Mary Tobin (18), Martin Bohen (16) and Ellen Bohan (11). The three older children were arrested and convicted of "feloniously killing a sheep" and all sentenced to be transported to Australia. Mary Lahy was herself arrested and convicted of "receiving stolen property into her house"; no doubt the mutton. She was also sentenced to transportation. She was permitted to bring he innocent 11 year old daughter (Ellen) with her to Australia.

Patrick Tobin and Martin Bohen arrived in Sydney on 5 January 1837 aboard the convict ship St Vincent. They were both assigned to work for the Australian Agricultural Company on its land in the Hunter District of NSW. Mary Lahy, their mother, arrived in Sydney about 6 months (along with Ellen) later aboard Margaret. (Her brother, Patrick Lahy, was already in the colony, having been transported 15 years earleir.) Finally, Mary Bohan arrived in Sydney a further two months later aboard Sir Charles Forbes.

All five struggled to come to terms with their new circumstances in New South Wales. There were further clashes with authority; but that is a story for another time!

At one time Mary Tobin was granted permission to marry another of my ancestors, Isaac Kemp; but the marriage did not proceed.

Martin Bohen eventually married Elizabeth Seage and they raised a family of twelve children in the Bathurst area of NSW.

Bowen pedigree

Our Bowen ancestors include the following people. Click on any name to access a computer-generated page of information about that person and a list of the information sources.

Notable Bowen ancestors

Click on the name of any of the notable ancestors listed below to read a short biography that I have written about them.

• Biography: Mary Lahy (1793-1884)
• Biography: Patrick Tobin (1815-1887)
• Biography: Martin Bohen (1819-1891)
• Biography: John Henry Bowen (1853-1902)
• Biography: Ellen Ruby Bowen (1882-1912)

Bowen family memorials

For centuries families have created memorials to honour their forebears, including headstones, church monuments, memorial cards, obituaries and much more. This website is, in a way, just another innovation in this regard. Each of the links below takes you to a memorial page that is dedicated to that particular deceased ancestor.

• Ellen Ruby Bowen – 1882-1912
• John Henry Bowen – 1853-1902
• Martin Bohen – 1819-1891
• Elizabeth Seage – 1834-1910 - wife of Martin Bohen

Bowen stories

The following Bowen family stories are published on this website.

• The Clan keeper – about Alice Clarkson Poulton (1860-1927), matriarch of the tight-knit Bowen clan
• Scrabbling in the dirt – about Mary Tobin (1818-1856), who suffered a tragic ending to a tough life
• An unfortunate family – The family of Mary Lahy experienced a Dickensian series of life's obstacles

Bowen Research Reports

The following Bowen research reports are published on this website.

• Lahy family origins – How I identified the origins of the Lahy family (including Bohen and Tobin)
• Finding Patrick Tobin – Jim Fleming identified our Patrick Tobin in a haystack full of namesakes.

Bohen clan

The Bohen clan descends from Mary Lahy and her second husband Cornelius Bowe.

• Legend:
• Subject
• Daughter
• Son
• Spouse

• Legend:
• Subject
• Daughter
• Son
• Spouse